Bungie Devs Say Atmosphere Is 'Soul-Crushing'

In the wake of laying off about 100 of its 1,200 employees, Bungie, the developer behind Destiny, is reportedly grappling with internal challenges and cost-saving measures, amid efforts to maintain some autonomy from Sony. Although Bungie operates as an independent Sony subsidiary, its leadership is seemingly striving to prevent a complete Sony takeover, IGN reports. The company's board, split between Bungie and Sony representatives, faces potential dissolution if Bungie fails to meet specific financial goals. This risk has been heightened by the delay of Destiny 2 expansion "The Final Shape" and investments in Marathon, challenging Bungie's financial performance. The report adds: Along with the recent layoffs, this has resulted in a massive decay in morale within the company, according to IGN's sources, one of whom told us that the mood within the studio has been "soul-crushing" over the last month. And it doesn't sound like management is making any significant efforts toward improving the atmosphere, either. According to those still with the company, employee frustration and sadness in the days and weeks following the layoffs was met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright flippancy or hostility from management. Several people we spoke to told us that leaders had reiterated, across multiple meetings, that they couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be more layoffs, with two specifically confirming previous reports that chief people officer Holly Barbacovi outright stating that layoffs were a "lever" the company would pull again.

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